Manfred Spitzer

Key takeaways

Manfred Spitzer belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Manfred Spitzer to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Manfred Spitzer from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Manfred Spitzer (born 27 May 1958) is a German neuroscientist, psychiatrist and author.

Life Spitzer was born in 1958 in Lengfeld, Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany. After his Abitur at the Max-Planck-Gymnasium in Groß-Umstadt, he studied medicine, philosophy and psychology at the University of Freiburg. During this time he earned his money for living as a street musician among other professions. Spitzer is the publisher of the trade journal Nervenheilkunde and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Stiftung Louisenlund. He has a controversial opinion on smartphones, saying that they make children "krank" ("ill"), "dumm" ("stupid") and "süchtig" ("addicted") and should only be allowed without supervision from age 18. German science magazine Bild der Wissenschaft observed that Spitzer's best-selling book about the topic, Digitale Demenz ("digital dementia") was "torn apart" by most reviewers: "Indeed, Spitzer makes argumentative leaps, draws bold conclusions, and comes up with hair-raising comparisons. Although he also cites many scientific studies, he often sweeps inconsistent details, critical comments by the authors, and contradictory studies under the rug. His academic peers reacted with corresponding annoyance. He has five children, including Thomas Spitzer.

Awards 1992: DGPPN-Duphar-Forschungsförderpreis of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik und Nervenheilkunde 2002: Cogito-Preis of the Cogito Foundation

Works (selection) Halluzinationen. Ein Beitrag zur allgemeinen und klinischen Psychopathologie. Springer, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-540-18611-5. Was ist Wahn? Untersuchungen zum Wahnproblem. Springer, Berlin 1989, ISBN 3-540-51072-9. Geist im Netz. 1996. with Leo Hermele: Von der Degeneration zur Antizipation – Gedanken zur nicht-Mendelschen Vererbung neuropsychiatrischer Erkrankungen aus historischer und aktueller Sicht. In: Gerhardt Nissen, Frank Badura (Hrsg.): Schriftenreihe der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geschichte der Nervenheilkunde. Band 2. Würzburg 1996, S. 111–127. Ketchup und das kollektive Unbewusste. Geschichten aus der Nervenheilkunde. Schattauer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-7945-2115-3. Lernen. Gehirnforschung und die Schule des Lebens., 2002, ISBN 9783827413963. Musik im Kopf: Hören, Musizieren, Verstehen und Erleben im neuronalen Netzwerk. 2002. Selbstbestimmen. Gehirnforschung und die Frage: Was sollen wir tun? 2004. Frontalhirn an Mandelkern. Letzte Meldungen aus der Nervenheilkunde. 2005. Vorsicht Bildschirm! Elektronische Medien, Gehirnentwicklung, Gesundheit und Gesellschaft. Klett, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-12-010170-2. Gott-Gen und Grossmutterneuron. Geschichten von Gehirnforschung und Gesellschaft. 2006. Mozarts Geistesblitze. Wie unser Gehirn Musik verarbeitet. 2006. Vom Sinn des Lebens. Wege statt Werke. Schattauer, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-7945-2563-8. Liebesbriefe und Einkaufszentren. Meditationen im und über den Kopf. Schattauer Verlag, 2008, ISBN 978-3-7945-2627-7. Medizin für die Bildung. Ein Weg aus der Krise. 2010, ISBN 978-3-8274-2677-2. Wie Kinder denken lernen 2010, ISBN 978-3-902533-26-5. (4 Hörbücher, 300 min.) Wie Erwachsene denken und lernen. 2011, ISBN 978-3-902533-38-8. (3 Hörbücher, 210 min.) Nichtstun, Flirten, Küssen und andere Leistungen des Gehirns. Schattauer Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-7945-2856-1. Digitale Demenz. Wie wir uns und unsere Kinder um den Verstand bringen. Droemer Knaur, München 2012, ISBN 978-3-426-27603-7. (Rank #1 of Spiegel's bestseller list from August 27, 2012, to September 9, 2012) as publisher: Heinz Janisch, Carola Holland: Tom und der König der Tiere (= Leben Lernen. 1). 2012, ISBN 978-3-902533-43-2. as publisher: Heinz Janisch, Susanne Wechdorn: Mein Freund, der Rasenmäher (= Leben Lernen). 2012, ISBN 978-3-902533-45-6. Das (un)soziale Gehirn. Schattauer, Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-7945-2918-6. Rotkäppchen und der Stress. Schattauer, Stuttgart 2014, ISBN 978-3-7945-2977-3. Cyberkrank! Wie das digitalisierte Leben unsere Gesundheit ruiniert. Droemer, München 2015, ISBN 978-3-426-27608-2. Früher war alles später. Schattauer, Stuttgart 2017, ISBN 978-3-7945-3243-8. Einsamkeit. Die unerkannte Krankheit. Schmerzhaft. Ansteckend. Tödlich. Droemer, München 2018, ISBN 978-3-426-27676-1. Die Smartphone-Epidemie. Gefahren für Gesundheit, Bildung und Gesellschaft. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2018, ISBN 978-3-608-96368-7.

References

External links

Literature by and about Manfred Spitzer in the German National Library catalogue Manfred Spitzer on IMDb

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Manfred Spitzer

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Manfred Spitzer claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Manfred Spitzer before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Manfred Spitzer ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Manfred Spitzer

In research: Manfred Spitzer appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Manfred Spitzer in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Manfred Spitzer is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1958 births, Academic staff of the University of Ulm, German male writers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Manfred Spitzer outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Manfred Spitzer in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Manfred Spitzer means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Manfred Spitzer out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Manfred Spitzer in simple terms?

Manfred Spitzer (born 27 May 1958) is a German neuroscientist, psychiatrist and author. Life Spitzer was born in 1958 in Lengfeld, Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany.

Why does Manfred Spitzer matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Manfred Spitzer?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Manfred Spitzer.